March 28, 2025
Does your organizational unit sell goods or services to an external entity? Has the vendor asked you to provide a Form W-9 for your specific campus?
Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) is generally requested by someone whose business needs to make a payment and needs to know exactly what legal entity they are making a payment to. In this case, the CU W-9 is typically requested because the external entity wants to purchase goods or services from CU.
If a vendor asks you for a W-9 specific to your campus, note that there is a single W-9 for the University of Colorado since all campuses operate under a single tax ID number. You can find the signed CU W-9 on our website at www.cu.edu/controller/forms/w-9-signed-cu.
Has an external entity asked you for a W-9 that is dated today?
The CU W-9 is signed and published on the OUC website annually. This is the version of the form you should provide to an external entity that wishes to purchase goods or services from your org unit.
If you have questions about getting a more recently dated CU W-9, please reach out out to the OUC's Financial Services & Solutions help team at FSS@cu.edu.
A few things to keep in mind ...
The signed CU W-9 contains the legal name and address of the University of Colorado; this is the most appropriate presentation on the Form W-9 and therefore, this version of the form should be provided when requested.
Typically, the CU W-9 should not identify a specific organizational unit name or address. If a vendor requests a specific campus/department name, etc., please reach out to FSS@cu.edu.
And don't forget:
Our Coffee Card giveaway contest continues throughout this month! To enter your name in the drawing, just submit your tax-related question or feedback using the form at the bottom of the Tax-Exempt Information webpage.
We'll draw one webform submission from each campus and send a $5.00 electronic gift card to five lucky tax-conscious individuals!